At the end of the season harvest tomatoes and peppers to finish ripening indoors. (C) Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
If you haven’t already, start bringing in houseplants that spent the summer outdoors. Temperatures have fallen into the 50s some nights, and that’s the indicator that houseplants need to head back indoors.
Give them a shower with the hose to knock off any six-legged hitchhikers before bringing them in. If you have plants already indoors, consider segregating for a week or so the ones moving in to make sure there are no diseases or insects that will spread.
A few days ago, I snipped off all of the tomatoes that had started to turn creamy or white to finish ripening indoors. Then, I pulled the plants. A lot of gardeners toss their tomato plants in the trash rather than the compost pile because of concerns about diseases, such a verticillium wilt or a blight. If the compost pile does not get hot enough, diseases, insects and weed seeds may not be destroyed. Problems can be spread throughout the garden when incomplete compost is used in planting or as a mulch. Here’s a good EPA guide for composting at home: http://1.usa.gov/1rqJUOZ.
Concern about the spread of disease and insects holds for other plants in the garden, too. If your perennials have shown any sign of a problem, such as premature leaf browning or aphid damage, cut them back and remove any fallen leaves. If the plant seems to have the same problem every year, consider pulling it out and planting something else. Life is too short to fret about uncooperative, high maintenance, worrisome plants.
A blue green pumpkin sits amid mini cabbages for a fall planting. © Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
While you are at it, pot up a fall container. Garden centers have a decent selection of annuals that tolerate lower temperatures, including pansies, osteospermum, petunias and calibrachoa. These are good companions for ornamental cabbage, kale and grasses, Swiss chard, mums and asters. Add a pumpkin, gourd or ornamental corn for more seasonal flair.
September is the best month to fertilize the lawn. Everyone thinks it’s sometime in spring, but at that time, the grass is greening up and growing anyway because of warmer temperatures. Fertilizing in spring increases mowing duties.
Fertilizing the lawn in September, and again in November, encourages good root development, which translates into a thick, healthy lawn that naturally crowds out weeds. I use Ringer Lawn Restore, an organic fertilizer, but there are other products formulated for fall application.
Lastly, perform an act of hope and faith and plant a few spring blooming bulbs. You’ll be glad you did when the snow melts and tulips, daffodils and other spring flowers harken another growing season.
